Nov. 19, 2007) – Eight civilians were killed and dozens wounded last week in the Hamas-stronghold of Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) reported—one week ahead of Israeli and Arab leaders convening in the U.S. for a Middle East peace summit arranged by the Bush administration.

 

Reacting to the violence committed against his Fatah Party members, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the overthrow of Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers.

 

“We have to bring down this bunch that took over Gaza with armed force, and is abusing the sufferings and pains of our people,” he said in a speech in Ramallah, where he set up a separate government five months ago, after Hamas seized control of Gaza.

It was the first time the Palestinian president explicitly called for the overthrow of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that also arrested hundreds of Fatah activists during last week’s violence, as it sought to stiffen its stranglehold on Gaza.

 

The upheaval coincided with what are already fragile relations between Abbas and Israeli leaders, all of whom are meeting next week in Annapolis, Md., for U.S.-led peace talks—negotiations that could also include Syria, and its long-held objective of seeing Israel return the Golan Heights.

 

While President Bush, with 14 months left in his term in office, hopes to establish a platform for peace in the longstanding Middle East conflict, some experts wonder if the Israelis and Palestinians have the political will to reach an accord that has been elusive for years, Reuters reported.

 

But analysts don’t completely disregard the opportunities for bridge building at the upcoming summit. “Even if the prospects for peace seem small, most breakthroughs in history come unexpectedly, often through surprising acts of leadership,” wrote Brookings Institution scholar Shibley Telhami, according to Reuters.

 

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told delegates at the United Jewish Communities (UJC) General Assembly in Nashville last week that both Israelis and Palestinians need to recognize that for peace and a two-state solution to be achieved, it will require “difficult, painful sacrifices to some of their longest-held aspirations.” Rice did not specify what those sacrifices might be.

 

“What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Middle East,” she said. “We’ve all waited an awfully long time for peace. We should wait no longer. Let us realize our shared goal of two democratic states living side by side in peace and security.”

 

Last week, Israel made clear one condition in negotiations with the Palestinians for a two-state solution: Israel must be recognized as a Jewish state and as the homeland of the Jewish people.

 

Palestinians might see such a condition for peace as a deal-breaker in that a key Palestinian demand in any peace deal is a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

 

But many Israelis fear losing their Jewish identity in the case that multitudes of Palestinian refugees are given unrestrained access to Israel.

 

According to the AP, the Israeli prime minister’s office has made it clear that a recognition by the Palestinians of the state of Israel as the state of the Jewish people is an issue “not subject to either negotiations or discussion.”

 

Yet Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of Israel’s opposition Likud Party, warned last week that in the U.S.-based peace talks, Prime Minister Olmert’s government appears to be “giving away everything and getting terrorists in return,” reported Israel’s Ynet News agency.